In automotive industries, belts are used to drive various components of a vehicle. Examples of such components include power steering, alternator, water pump, AC compressor and the like. Typically, the belts transfer power from an engine of the vehicle to these components for driving them. These days, instead of employing belts individually for each of the components, a single belt is employed for driving all such components in the vehicle. Such a belt, conventionally known as a serpentine belt, routes around various pulleys and idler gears associated with various components of the vehicle.
With consistent use thereof, the serpentine belt undergoes wear and tear over a period of time. Consequently, the serpentine belt may slip off from one or more of the pulleys and/or idler gears associated with the various components of the vehicle. Slipping off of the serpentine belt from the pulleys/idler gear leads to increase in load on the engine, more power consumption or failure in the power transmission to the components of the vehicle. Accordingly, the serpentine belt requires maintenance or replacement from time to time. During replacement or maintenance thereof, the serpentine belt may be installed, removed, routed or adjusted on/from the pulleys and gears.
While installing, removing, routing, or adjusting the serpentine belt, it is required to handle the serpentine belt carefully due to various reasons. One of the reasons is availability of very less clearance while accessing the pulleys and gears of the engine under a hood of the vehicle. Due to this, it may be difficult to reach the serpentine belt for handling it.
Typically, a front-wheel-drive vehicle with a transversely mounted engine provides limited access to the serpentine belt, thereby necessitating lifting of the front wheel of the vehicle from the ground for accessing the serpentine belt. Further, in some vehicles, a splash shield needs to be removed for accessing the front portion of the engine for handling the serpentine belt. Such an activity of removing the splash shield for accessing of the serpentine belt is cumbersome for an individual handling the serpentine belt. Furthermore, in some other cases, handling of the serpentine belt is much more difficult when the engine is hot. Due to these above mentioned reasons, just accessing the serpentine belt can be a time consuming and unpleasant experience for any individual such as an automotive specialist.
Currently, a rod or a screwdriver may be used to adjust the belt on the pulley. However, the serpentine belt may be slipped off from the rod or the screwdriver while being adjusted. This may require additional effort to first adjust the serpentine belt on the rod or the screwdriver and thereafter, to adjust the serpentine belt on the pulleys and/or gears. Accordingly, handling the serpentine belt by using the rod or the screwdriver may be time consuming and tiresome for an individual handling the serpentine belt.